Category: CBD News

Pockets of Orlando see home prices return to peak

September 28, 2015

Pockets of Orlando see home prices return to peak

Home prices in some areas of Central Florida have returned to pre-crash levels.

Economists projected during the housing bust that Metro Orlando home prices would take three decades to recover to peak levels. A few pockets of the region, though, have already shown signs of full recovery.

Median home sales prices in parts of downtown Orlando, Maitland, Windermere, Longwood, Dr. Phillips and Lady Lake have returned to pre-crash levels of mid-2007, according to an Orlando Sentinel analysis of public-record sales data provided by Zillow. In addition, data from Orlando Regional Realtors and other reports reflect full recovery for several of those areas.

Map: Orlando-area home price changes

The top recovery market within all of Orange, Seminole, Lake and Osceola counties is the downtown Orlando ZIP code of 32801, which includes parts of Thornton and Delaney parks.

“Millennials are flooding into the market. They know the market is going up,” said Orlando real estate broker Dusty Sutton. “All the Millennials want to be downtown, as well as business professionals who get tired of driving and empty nesters who like the vibrancy of downtown and don’t want the big house and the big yard.”

Popular opinion seems to be that Millennials prefer renting to owning, but Sutton said she found buyers in their 20s and early 30s have been the main shoppers at downtown-area open houses.

BUSINESS

What’s old is new again: 10 pre-WWII homes for sale in Orlando

Overall, the comeback stories for Orlando neighborhoods have been based on supply and demand. Few houses, for instance, are available in core downtown neighborhoods with walkability and entertainment for Millennials. And demand for renovated houses in areas known for good schools has boosted prices in Maitland. Meanwhile, large supplies of condominiums in parts of southwest Orlando have slowed price recovery there, real estate agents say.

CAPTION11301 Bridge House Road, Windermere

Zillow

On the Butler chain of lakes and nicknamed “Overjoy” this scenic waterfront property has five bedrooms, nine bathrooms and 10,155-square-feet of living space. The estate is listed for $7.9 million.

CAPTION11301 Bridge House Road, Windermere

Zillow

On the Butler chain of lakes and nicknamed “Overjoy” this scenic waterfront property has five bedrooms, nine bathrooms and 10,155-square-feet of living space. The estate is listed for $7.9 million.

In downtown, single-family-home shoppers now face a midpoint sales price of $307,500 — about $6,000 higher than the peak. Prices for the limited supply of properties had dropped only 27 percent from a peak of $301,700 in 2007, bottoming out at $220,800 in January 2012. In comparison, houses throughout Central Florida lost more than half their value during that time.

As for the condominiums of downtown Orlando, they have not reached peak-market prices but have gained value as downtown landlords continue to hike rental rates. One-bedroom apartments in the area commonly lease for $1,500 a month. Condo prices have sprung back to a midpoint of $198,100 after dropping to $124,500 over a four-year period, according to public sales data from Zillow, but remain short of the peak price of $258,800.

Other areas returning to peak-market residential prices, with percentage gains since their low points:

  • Maitland/Eatonville (32751), up 44 percent to $287,450.
  • Windermere (34786), up 21 percent to $386,750.
  • Longwood/Lake Mary (32779), up 9 percent to $276,910.

Stories of full recovery aren’t the norm for Central Florida. Zillow’s sales records show that only six of Metro Orlando’s 64 ZIP codes have bounced back. And the Orlando Regional Realtor Association has reported that median prices in the core Orlando market last month were $182,000 — about $76,000 below the heady days of 2007. But median prices have doubled from the depths of 2011.

During the summer, Winter Park real estate agent Maria Van Warner sold a Maitland house for several hundred thousand dollars more than it sold for a decade ago when prices neared their 2007 bursting point. Demand for the neighborhood was so high Van Warner had to find, for her buyer, a house that wasn’t even listed for sale. Even though it had been renovated, the sale still indicated that particular market has bounced back, she said.

“It’s because of supply and demand,” Van Warner said. “There’s not a lot available. That neighborhood holds its value more than other areas because of the schools, the sense of community and kind of the safety. It’s kind of old-school USA.”

The slowest areas to recover have been areas southwest of downtown Orlando, Pine Hills and Oak Ridge, according to data from Zillow and the Orlando Regional Realtor Association.

Southwest of downtown Orlando, prices in the ZIP code 32811 have suffered because of a glut of condos on the market nearby in the MetroWest development, said Marcelo Saucedo, a broker with listings in the area.

With so much competition, he said, buyers are able to shop for the most affordable prices. Median prices in that area are $75,400, far less than half of their $208,000 peak eight years ago.

“The majority of people in the MetroWest area don’t care if they’re in an condo, apartment or townhouse,” Saucedo said. “They just want access to jobs but they can’t afford places like downtown and Lake Mary.”

Developer seeks zoning for 10,000 homes near Lake Nona

September 8, 2015

Developer seeks zoning for 10,000 homes near Lake Nona

By Paul Brinkmanncontact the reporter

Dewberry Engineers/Carlsbad Orlando LLC

Developer seeks annexation for homes, offices, retail east of Orlando International

Developer John Brunetti has filed proposals with the city of Orlando for zoning to build up to 10,000 homes and apartments near Lake Nona.

City officials had previously announced that Brunetti’s companies were moving ahead with development plans, but didn’t give specifics on the number of homes anticipated.  The proposed zoning applications are now spelling out those details.

Brunetti’s land is about 4,000 acres in two separate tracts on Orlando’s southeastern limits. The property is east of Orlando International Airport, near the intersection of State Road 528 and 417. The properties are known as the Starwood property and the Vista Park property.

The Vista Park property is already part of the city, but the Starwood property would need to be annexed.

  • Since we will have many more taxpayers with this proposal then we must link a general tax cut for taxpayers as a condition of this being approved! A win win……..but don’t hold your breath, these “elected” officials are here to pick the taxpayers pocket at every turn.

NERDLYWEHUNT

AT 6:59 AM SEPTEMBER 04, 2015

Development has already been envisioned for both properties in the past. Thousands of homes and apartments were planned for the Vista Park property in 2004. But those plans were postponed, partly due to discoveries of buried explosives from a World War II-era bombing range, the Pinecastle Jeep Range. Brunetti and the city have plans for a thorough cleanup of the area using magnetic imaging and other technology.

Here’s the breakdown according to the new plans:

–Vista Park: 3,300 homes, 1,000 apartments

–Starwood: 4,400 homes, 2,000 apartments, 140,000 square feet of office space, 150,000 square feet of retail, and 150,000 square feet of industrial use.

Orlando officials and a South Florida businessman are pursuing plans for a pair of new residential developments, dubbed Vista Park and Starwood, that would combine to fill about 4,000 acres near Lake Nona.

(City of Orlando)

Brunetti, known as the owner of Hialeah Park race track, and his attorneys have said he owns the property through limited liability companies. The owner of the Vista Park property is Mockingbird Orlando LLC, which includes Robert Yeager of Orlando-based Sullivan Properties as a member, according to state records. The Starwood Property includes ownership by Carlsbad Orlando LLC, Hugh M. Palmer, and Florida Gas Transmission  Company LLC, according to the request for annexation.

Both requests are being handled by attorney Miranda Fitzgerald of Lowndes, Drosdick, Doster, Kantor & Reed.

The zoning and annexation requests are scheduled to be considered by the Municipal Planning Board at 8:30 a.m. on Oct. 20 at City Hall.

The developer’s request for annexing the Starwood property says it  “will help the City achieve its objective of being able to accommodate its projected resident population of 332,982 by the year 2030 in a manner that allows for efficient, orderly economic growth in the newest  urbanizing area.”

The Vista Park request says the developer anticipates that the county landfill site will be capped and closed and that its surrounding 28.5 acres “would  be an appropriate  location  for a regional active park, if acceptable to the City, once FDEP confirms that the site is in compliance with the applicable capping and closure regulations.”

Share of In-Foreclosure Sales Drops to 15-Year Low in July While Cash Sales Share Falls to Eight-Year Low

August 27, 2015

Share of In-Foreclosure Sales Drops to 15-Year Low in July While Cash Sales Share Falls to Eight-Year Low

  • Aug 26, 2015
YTD Single Family Home and Condo Sales Volume at Eight-Year High;
U.S. Median Home Price in July at Highest Level Since September 2008IRVINE, Calif. – August 27, 2015 — RealtyTrac® (www.realtytrac.com), the nation’s leading source for comprehensive housing data, today released its July 2015 U.S. Home Sales Report, which shows sales of properties in-foreclosure and cash sales were down from a year ago to multi-year lows while year-to-date U.S. home sales in 2015 are at an eight-year high, and the U.S. median home price in July was at an 82-month high.

The sale of properties sold while in the foreclosure process (not including bank-owned properties) accounted for 6.4 percent of all single family and condo sales in July, down from 6.6 percent of all sales in June and down from 8.0 percent in July 2014 to the lowest monthly share since January 2000 — the earliest that data is available.

All-cash buyers accounted for 22.6 percent of all single family home and condo sales in July, down from 23.7 percent of all sales in the previous month and down from 26.5 percent of all sales in July 2014 to the lowest percentage of cash sales in a month since July 2008 – a 7-year low, and down from the most recent peak of 39 percent in February 2013 (highest going back as far as RealtyTrac has national data, January 2000).

A total of 1,344,129 single family homes and condos sold in the first six months of 2015, according to public record sales deeds collected by RealtyTrac, the highest number of sales in the first half of any year since 2007.

The U.S. median home sales price in July was $189,500, up 2 percent from the previous month and up 2 percent from a year ago to the highest level since September 2008.

“While the stock market may be on a roller coaster as of late, the housing market is still on solid ground, with the eight-year low in cash sales combined with the eight-year high in overall sales volume in the first half of the year evidence that housing is successfully transitioning from an investor-driven recovery to one that is drawing in traditional buyers as a good foundation for sustainable growth going forward,” said Daren Blomquist, vice president at RealtyTrac. “That’s not to say there are no cracks in the foundation of this recovery, the top three of which are housing affordability — or lack thereof in some high-flying markets — along with overdependence on capricious cash buyers — both foreign and domestic — in some markets, and the persistent overhang of underwater homeowners who continue to represent heightened default risk given any future economic shockwaves.”

10 local markets reach new home price peaks in July

Out of 161 markets analyzed for home sales prices (excluding non-disclosure states), 10 metros (6 percent) reached new home price peaks in July, and 20 percent of the 161 metro areas analyzed have hit new home price peaks in 2014 or 2015.

10 markets with new home price peaks in July 2015

MSA July 2015 Median Sales Price
Denver-Aurora, CO $295,000
San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA $822,000
Columbus, OH $155,000
Nashville-Davidson–Murfreesboro–Franklin, TN $179,900
Raleigh-Cary, NC $208,500
Omaha-Council Bluffs, NE-IA $168,000
Colorado Springs, CO $215,000
Madison, WI $220,000
Boulder, CO $389,450
Burlington-South Burlington, VT $253,500

“We are beginning to sense increasing inventory. Homeowners may be thinking that now is the right time to sell. There are some very real issues regarding the oil and gas industry, the threat of the Federal Reserve raising rates, a nationally less than robust economy, and negative vibes from foreign economies,” said Gene Vaughn, owner/broker at RE/MAX Alliance, covering the Northern Colorado market.  “Construction of new homes is in a higher gear to better meet demand and we may very well see a modest cooling in the fourth quarter of this year.”

“During the heat of the summer in July, the Ohio housing markets displayed further signs of balance and recovery. With listing inventories on the rise, month-over-month, in the Ohio metros of Columbus, Dayton, and Cincinnati; consumers are experiencing greater choices and renewed demand,” said Michael Mahon, president at HER Realtors, covering the Cincinnati, Dayton and Columbus markets in Ohio. “While overall sales unit volume dropped slightly in July, month over month, throughout many Ohio metros; the reflection of increased average sales prices lifted closed sales dollars volume throughout much of Ohio.”

65 percent of markets at 8-year high for sales midway through 2015

Out of 190 markets analyzed for home sales volume, 124 (65 percent) reached an eight-year high in home sales through the first half of the year, and 26 markets (14 percent) were at a 10-year high for home sales in the first half of 2015. Four markets reached an all-time high for sales volume in the first half of the year since 2000, the earliest data available in the report: The Villages, Florida; Lincoln, Nebraska, Pittsburgh, and Denver.

10 major markets with eight-year highs in home sales in first half of 2015

Metro Area Jan-Jun 2008 Home Sales Jan-Jun 2015 Home Sales
Los Angeles-Long Beach-Santa Ana, CA 22,528 46,590
Phoenix-Mesa-Scottsdale, AZ 18,662 45,555
Chicago-Naperville-Joliet, IL-IN-WI 31,554 43,099
Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX 26,013 34,392
Houston-Sugar Land-Baytown, TX 21,736 26,643
Denver-Aurora, CO 13,849 26,175
Detroit-Warren-Livonia, MI 12,507 25,785
Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA 16,150 25,516
Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, FL 13,108 25,432
Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario, CA 9,110 25,216

 “All indicators continue to point to a normalizing market.  A downtick in all cash and distress sales coupled with 100 percent of sales at estimated value and increasing median prices bodes well for continued strength through the fall,” said Mark Hughes, chief operating officer with First Team Real Estate, covering the Southern California market.  “We have seen growth in inventory which should tamp down this run of price growth; we need consistency to support the gains and to help maintain confidence moving forward.”

“With market inventory remaining extremely tight, the fact that sellers are holding out for full price offers is clearly not a surprise. In fact, there are several sub-markets where sales prices exceed list prices,” said Matthew Gardner, chief economist at Windermere Real Estate, covering the Seattle market. “I still expect to see healthy growth in sales prices across the board through the balance of the year.  Inventory constraints persist which, in concert with persistently low interest rates and above average job growth, is acting as a catalyst for buyers to continue to feel comfortable with the market and the high price levels which are being sought.”

Cash share of sales up in New York City and 56 other markets

Metros with the highest share of cash sales in July were all in Florida — Sebastian, Florida (54.6 percent), Homosassa Springs, Florida (53.3 percent), Sebring, Florida (52.6 percent), Naples, Florida (50.2 percent), Port St. Lucie, Florida (49.1 percent), Punta Gorda, Florida (48.7 percent), The Villages, Florida (48.4 percent), Miami, Florida (47.6 percent) and Sarasota, Florida (47 percent).

“South Florida continues to see the market improve on all fronts — non-distressed sales are up 10 percent in median sales price over last year,” said Mike Pappas, CEO and president of the Keyes Company covering the South Florida market. “We continue to see a decline in inventory in homes under $300,000 but above that price point we are beginning to see inventory rise. We have finally moved into a real market with real buyers and real sellers.”

Other major metros with a high percentage of cash sales in July included New York, New York (43.2 percent), Orlando (37.6 percent) and Tampa (35.3 percent), Las Vegas (32.6 percent), Rochester, New York (32.6 percent), and Detroit (31.9 percent).

In 57 of the 200 markets analyzed for cash sales (29 percent), the share of cash sales increased from a year ago, counter to the national trend. Those markets included New York, Los Angeles, Philadelphia, Baltimore, Denver and San Jose.

Metros with highest share of in-foreclosure sales

Metros with highest share of in-foreclosure properties in July were Salisbury, North Carolina (23.6 percent), Rockford, Illinois (17.1 percent), Morehead City, North Carolina (16.3 percent), Baltimore, Maryland (16.1 percent), Toledo, Ohio (15.2 percent) and Chicago, Illinois (14.7 percent).

Other major metros with a high percentage of in-foreclosure properties in July included Tampa, Florida (12.7 percent), Las Vegas, Nevada (12.3 percent), Milwaukee, Wisconsin (11.7 percent), Virginia Beach, Virginia (11.4 percent) and Cincinnati, Ohio (11.3 percent).

In 61 of the 172 markets analyzed for in-foreclosure sales (35 percent), the share of in-foreclosure sales increased from a year ago, counter to the national trend. Those markets included Chicago, Atlanta, Boston, Baltimore and Pittsburgh.

Report methodology
The RealtyTrac U.S. Home Sales Report provides percentages of distressed sales and all sales that are sold to cash buyers by state and metropolitan statistical area. Data is also available at the county and zip code level upon request. The data is derived from recorded sales deeds, foreclosure filings and loan data. Statistics for previous months are revised when each new report is issued as more deed data becomes available.

Definitions
All-cash purchases: sales where no loan is recorded at the time of sale and where RealtyTrac has coverage of loan data.

Properties in-foreclosure: a sale of a property that occurs while the property is actively in some stage of foreclosure (NOD, LIS, NTS or NFS). This includes only sales to third-party buyers or investors not involved in the foreclosure process. It does not include property transfers from the owner in default to the foreclosing bank or lender.

About RealtyTrac
RealtyTrac is a leading provider of comprehensive U.S. housing and property data, including nationwide parcel-level records for more than 130 million U.S. properties. Detailed data attributes include property characteristics, tax assessor data, sales and mortgage deed records, distressed data, including default, foreclosure and auctions status, and Automated Valuation Models (AVMs). Sourced from RealtyTrac subsidiary Homefacts.com, the company’s proprietary national neighborhood-level database includes more than 50 key local and neighborhood level dynamics for residential properties, providing unrivaled pre-diligence capabilities and a parcel risk database for portfolio analysis. RealtyTrac’s data is widely viewed as the industry standard and, as such, is relied upon by real estate professionals and service providers, marketers and financial institutions, as well as the Federal Reserve, U.S. Treasury Department, HUD, state housing and banking departments, investment funds and tens of millions of consumers.

NJ millennials drive apartment building surge

August 18, 2015

NJ millennials drive apartment building surge

Michael L. Diamond, @mdiamondapp 10:15 p.m. EDT June 24, 2015
LINKEDIN 1 COMMENTMORE

New Jersey developers during the past three months received the most building permits since the 1980s housing boom, a report released this week said.

The surge was led by demand for apartments, mostly in cities. Single-family housing permits declined in May, said Patrick J. O’Keefe, director of economic research for the CohnReznick accounting firm.

“What we’re seeing now is a shift in (attitude about) home ownership,” O’Keefe said.

The report is the latest sign that New Jersey is making a transition. The millennial generation, unlike their predecessors, is gravitating from the suburbs toward cities, where they can live, work and entertain without hopping in the car.

It is helping New Jersey’s economy belatedly catch up with the nation. After grinding to a virtual halt in 2014, the state’s economy is showing signs of life in 2015, according to a string of recent reports.

Investors Bank said it originated a record $1.2 billion worth of commercial real estate mortgages in New Jersey, New York and Pennsylvania during the first four months of the year. The majority were for multifamily homes.

“We have a solid pipeline of financing deals despite the increased competition from a growing list of lenders,” said Rich Spengler, chief lending officer for the Short Hills-based bank.

New Jersey municipalities from January through May approved 12,798 permits, up 19.2 percent than the same time a year ago, O’Keefe said.

It was the most since August 1988. The difference? Back then, the permits were evenly divided between single-family homes and multifamily homes. Now, nearly 70 percent are for multifamily homes, O’Keefe said.

To baby boomers, home ownership was a bedrock. To millennials, who lived through the housing meltdown, it isn’t, O’Keefe said.

“They recognize … and have a strict view that housing is first and foremost about a necessity than an investment,” he said.

Michael L. Diamond; 732-643-4038; mdiamond@gannettnj.com

Home Prices Rising, But Builders Pinched

August 18, 2015

June 26, 2015

Home Prices Rising, But Builders Pinched

By DONNA HOWELL
INVESTOR’S BUSINESS DAILY

Housing economists weighed in with forecasts Friday in Miami, at a conference by the National Association of Real Estate Editors. View Enlarged Image

U.S. home prices will rise moderately this year and next as demand picks up but inventory stays low, a panel of housing economists said Friday. Rents rising, perhaps faster, are expected to benefit landlords, while homebuilders undergo a continuing profit pinch.

After a 6% gain the last 12 months, home prices should rise 5% both this year and next, predicts Frank Nothaft, chief economist at property analytics provider CoreLogic (NYSE:CLGX).

“By the end of 2017, I think we’ll be back up to the peak where we were in 2006,” he told the National Association of Real Estate Editors (NAREE) conference in Miami, Fla. “But those are nominal prices … in inflation-adjusted terms, prices will still be about 20% below the 2006 peak.”

He sees home sales also rising 5% this year to the highest since 2009.

Homebuying is happening amid stock market gains and better consumer confidence, which hit a 5-month high in a University of Michigan survey out Friday.

Panelists saw a variety of reasons for a low inventory of existing homes for sale. They ranged from owners hesitating to sell because they don’t find a suitable replacement home to reluctance to move after refinancing a mortgage at a very low rate.

Also, large investors who have bought homes are not putting them back on the market, said National Association of Realtors chief economist Lawrence Yun.

Whatever the reasons, the low-inventory phenomenon has an impact on builders, said David Crowe, senior economist at the National Association of Home Builders.

“New-home sales come primarily from existing-home sellers,” he said. “If we’re not getting existing sellers to sell their house, we can’t find someone to buy their new house.”

So “builders aren’t going to build what they think they can’t sell.”

That’s despite a 30-year mortgage rate that Yun expects to end the year at an average of just 4.3%.

Crowe sees single-family housing construction starts rising from 647,000 in 2014 to 726,000 this year and 935,000 in 2016.

He notes that after the housing downturn and recession, when builders braked with the marketplace, their supply chains — from labor to lending — were interrupted .

Now, Crowe says, “builders are seeing a profit squeeze — they’re having to pay higher prices for their land, and they’re having to pay more for labor … and they’re suffering either from no credit or very expensive credit.”

A lack of credit availability through small community banks particularly affects regional and local builders, the NAREE panelists said.

One thing affecting the housing supply is that many existing homes have become rentals, as owners and small investors seek income streams and as the institutional single-family-home buyers that Yun referenced act as landlords.

“We’ve had a big increase in the one-family-home component of the rental stock,” Nothaft said.

“We’ve seen rents rise on single-family homes about 4% this year. … In some markets, double-digit increases in rent and in other markets growth (are) a lot weaker,” he added, citing April data.

Zillow (NASDAQ:Z) chief economist, Stan Humphries, sees rents up more than home prices.

“Rents are rising 4.3% year over year while home prices are up 3.3% year over year (in May),” he said. “We’re very tight in terms of rental vacancies. It’s no surprise why rents are on a tear in this country.”

Humphries says that he continues to be very bullish on rental demand, noting that while some renters will move into homes, millennials and restrained wage growth support the rental market.

“The kid in your basement is not going to go buy a house,” Humphries said. “He’s going to move into rental stock.”

The builder stocks in IBD’s Building-Commercial/Residential industry group are up a collective 10% this year. Three of the five largest by market cap are highly rated by IBD, with a Composite Rating of 89 or better out of a potential 99: Lennar (NYSE:LEN), D.R. Horton (NYSE:DHI) and NVR (NYSE:NVR). Among builders with a market cap of at least $1 billion, two more have a Composite Rating that high: Ryland Group (NYSE:RYL) and Tri Pointe Homes (NYSE:TPH), both with a 91.

Homebuilders rallied after the largest by market cap, Lennar, beat analyst estimates in its second quarter earnings report Wednesday. And Lennar stock rose 5%.

The builder’s gross margin on home sales of 23.8% was down from 25.5% a year earlier.

“Gross margin percentage on home sales decreased primarily due to an increase in land costs, partially offset by an increase in the average sales price of homes delivered,” Lennar said in its report.

KB Home (NYSE:KBH) stock has jumped 16% since its earnings report June 19 that topped analyst estimates. That builder’s gross profit margin came in at 16%, down from 18.9% a year earlier, attributed in the report to “higher land and construction costs, increased pricing pressure in certain markets, start-up field costs associated with new community openings, and an increase in the amortization of previously capitalized interest.”